Monday, December 7, 2015

Nonfiction Monday: Brown Bears by Cari Meister

I looked at some of Bullfrog's books when Jump! first debuted the imprint, back in 2014, and I'm revisiting them today, specifically one from My First Animal Library. I picked this one because I like bears.

Each book has an educational section, "Ideas for parents and teachers" that talks about reading with and talking to children. The book is divided into three "chapters" that follow a simple narrative structure while including facts about brown bears. A female brown bear hibernates, gives birth, and takes her cubs to feed in the salmon stream. Additional information at the back includes the parts of a bear, a picture glossary that matches captions of the photos, a simple index, and a link to the website.

These books are a very handy size, a tidy 8x8 with sturdy bindings and colorful backgrounds behind the simple text. This one has lots of gorgeous pictures of bears (all pictures of bears are gorgeous, in my opinion) and the text is not only a good read-aloud for toddlers and preschoolers, but makes a good easy reader. The books don't have the lyrical flow of a nonfiction book that's meant to be read aloud, but they are informative and at a good level for the audience. If you're going to buy series nonfiction for young listeners and readers, this imprint is the best choice.

Verdict: This imprint has continued to grow in popularity at my library. Many families now look for the smaller size to pick up books for the kids and it's also perfect for our classes of beginning readers. Even if you can't afford to purchase whole sets, take the time to go through their catalog and select what your budget can handle and they will definitely circulate.

ISBN: 9781620311660; Published 2015 by Bullfrog Books/Jump!; Purchased for the library